Made It To Irishtown Nature Park Trails

I heard about the Irishtown Nature park from photographers on Google+ but assumed it was at Irishtown which is just over 11 Km from our house and a little too far for me to walk to.

It wasn’t until Jenny’s nephew Patrick dropped in to wish her a happy birthday. While we were chatting he mentioned how much he likes having lunch at the Irishtown Nature park. That’s when I learned it is only 6.3 Km from our house to the park which I thought was something I could do.

It was just 6C when I got the following morning so I got ready and headed out shortly after Jenny went to work. I did bring my bus pass in case I wore myself out before getting back home again as well as a bottle of water, a few cookies and a little money in case I needed more water and food later.

I left the house at 7:55am, walked the 6.3 Km and arrived at the Irishtown Nature park sign above at 9:15am. It took me a little longer because I snapped 176 photos along the way.

Irishtown Nature Park

If you look closely you will see a walking bridge way back there and I wanted to get there so I could take another photo looking back this way. I took a trail through the forest rather than follow the gravelled path that went around but no close enough to see the water as you walk.

As I was walking the path following the water I heard squirrels letting me know that I was on their turf and that they would appreciate a peanut or two.

This little brown squirrel was just quietly sitting munching on a pine cone but had one eye on my every second.

After about 8 or 10 photos he thought it was time I moved on so he became vocal. I smiled, waved and said goodbye for now.

My goal, if I had one, was to get a few good photographs of mushrooms as I haven’t had much luck finding mushrooms in the other places I go. I had no problem finding mushrooms along the trails next to the water where it was a bit damp.

I found a few mushrooms on the first trail I followed through the forest close to the water and again once I reached the bridge and crossed to the other side of the water where I followed a closed trail.

The only reason they closed this trail was to repair old boards on the walking bridges as well as spots on the trail that need cleaning up before next spring.

Walkers, Joggers And Kayakers

I saw moms pushing strollers along the nice wide pebbled trails. Some people were out walking with friends while others like myself were enjoying the park by themselves. I even saw a few joggers enjoying the trails.

I saw a group of about 15 joggers who all piled up on a walking bridge with a view of the lake when the first few took too long admiring the beauty of the lake. It was a time I should have hit record instead of just snapping a couple of photos.

Once the joggers all passed by I noticed someone was in a kayak way up near the other bridge and I could see they were headed in my direction so I tried to get to a good spot to get a photo of him coming straight at me. I didn’t get that shot because he was way faster than I thought he was.

This Kayaker Wasn’t Wasting Any time

By the time I walked the 6 Km back home again I was worn out and needed to sit down and take a load off my feet and back. However as tired out as I was it was one of my most fun days this summer.

About TheTraveller

I moved to Moncton, New Brunswick in 1980 and have loved living here for the past 30 years or so. There are so many places we like to visit like Fundy National Park that we find it hard to find time to experience new places and sights.